CITY OF VANCOUVER

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON

CITY SERVICES AND BUDGETS

MARCH 5, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held on Thursday, March 5, 1998 at 11:55 a.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall, following the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets meeting, to consider the recommendations of the Committee.

PRESENT:	Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Sick Leave) Councillor George Puil (Civic Business)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL:	Tarja Tuominen

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Chiavario,

SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor Owen in the chair.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

March 5, 1998

Council considered the recommendations of the Committee, as contained in the following clauses of the attached report:

Cl.1: Proposed Busking Program

Cl.2: Substance Abuse Policy

Proposed Busking Program

(Clause 1)

Consideration of this item and the hearing of the remainder of the speakers is referred to the March 26, 1998 meeting of the Standing Committee of City Services and Budgets.

Substance Abuse Policy

(Clause 2)

MOVED by Cllr. Clarke ,

THAT the recommendation of the Committee, as contained in Clause 1 of this report, be approved.

- CARRIED

(Councillor Chiavario opposed)

RISE FROM COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Chiavario ,

THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

ADOPT REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MOVED by Cllr. Chiavario,

SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,

THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.

- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Council adjourned at 12 p.m.

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REPORT TO COUNCIL

STANDING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

ON CITY SERVICES AND BUDGETS

MARCH 5, 1998

A Regular Meeting of the Standing Committee of Council on City Services and Budgets was held on Thursday, March 5, 1998 at 9:30 a.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Third Floor, City Hall.

PRESENT:	Councillor Nancy A. Chiavario, Deputy Chair Mayor Philip Owen Councillor Don Bellamy Councillor Jennifer Clarke Councillor Alan Herbert Councillor Daniel Lee Councillor Don Lee Councillor Gordon Price Councillor Sam Sullivan
ABSENT:	Councillor Lynne Kennedy (Sick Leave) Councillor George Puil (Civic Business)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE:	Ken Dobell, City Manager
CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE:	Tarja Tuominen

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets meeting of February 5, 1998, were adopted.

VARY ORDER OF AGENDA

Due to the number of speakers for Item 1, the Committee agreed to vary the order of the agenda to deal with Item 2 first. For ease of reference, the items are minuted in numerical order.

RECOMMENDATION

1. Proposed Busking Program File: 2631

The Committee had before it a Policy Report dated February 6, 1998 (on file) in which the General Manager of Engineering Services sought approval for guidelines and administration procedures to regulate entertainment on city street allowance and reduce conflict between buskers and neighbouring businesses, residents, and other street users. The General Manager recommends the establishment of a permit system for busking and by-law amendments to allow better response to public concerns.

Bob Ross, Streets Administration Engineer, briefly reviewed the report. The proposed regulations try to address obstruction and noise concerns related to busking. Input has been received from a number of buskers. Additional free busking areas will be identified.

Adrienne Montani, Child & Youth Advocate, noted her comments are included in the report. The definition for a busker is very broad, and raises concerns that activities such as practising an instrument will be regulated. Insurance and fee requirements will negatively impact youth.

The Chair noted that, due to time constraints, the Committee may not be able to hear all of the speakers this day, and the remainder will be heard at a future meeting date.

The following spoke in general support of the proposed regulations, but suggested some modifications:

·Cameron McCabe

·Sarah Kirby, Robson Street Business Association (brief filed)

·Jay Maurice George

·Phil Yacht

·Roman Bociurkiw

cont'd

Clause No. 1 (cont'd)

The following are some of the points made by the foregoing speakers:

·a permit system will weed out the bad buskers; since Vancouver is becoming a world class city, good players and musicians should be on the street;

·the Robson Street Business Association strongly supports the establishment of a permit system for busking; however the Association submits in its brief a number of modifications to the proposed regulations;

·the fee should be $10 a month, which may make it easier for some buskers to pay for the permit;

·the performance time should be limited to two hours instead of one;

·permits should be issued on an audition basis;

·the guideline prohibiting the use of amplification should be reconsidered; soft instruments such as harps and guitars need some kind of amplifiers; propose the use of 70/80 decibel amplifiers be allowed;

·buskers should be allowed to sell CD’s or tapes; some buskers rely on the sale of CD’s and tapes to supplement their incomes;

The following spoke in opposition to the proposed regulations:

·Nathan Nowlan, Dust to Dawn

·Nicholas Mah

·Colleen Muriel

The following are some of the points made by the foregoing speakers:

·the proposed limitations are unfair; buskers were not consulted and are too fragmented a community to belong to an association; the regulations try and regulate people’s self-expression; there should be no limits on public expression;

cont'd

Clause No. 1 (cont'd)

· no meaningful consultations were conducted with buskers; the report is a fair one, but with consultation with buskers, staff will be able to write a good report;

·confiscation of instruments will take away buskers’ livelihood;

·do not agree with auditioning for a permit; personal taste will creep into auditioning; would like to be able to work for two hours in a location.

In response to questions, the following staff advised as follows:

·Bob Ross noted a monthly permit system and auditions for permits would require additional staff and therefore the cost of the permit would have to be higher.

·Staff Sergeant Wayne Wilton, Vancouver Police Department, reported bylaws are enforced by complaint only; with the establishment of permits for busking, police will be better able to communicate with Engineering, and there will be a record of those who abuse the bylaw.

·Alfred Guthrie, Noise Control, Environmental Health, stated there is a major problem with amplified instruments ; speakers can be turned up to any volume.

During discussion, the Committee noted free busking areas need to be identified where merchants and residents are not adversely affected, yet there is enough of a pedestrian flow to have the potential to attract an audience. Some additional locations suggested were community centres and seawalls.

The Chair noted the meeting had to adjourn to allow the Committee members to attend a noon hour meeting. The remainder of the speakers will be heard at a future meeting.

(NOTE FROM CLERK: The remainder of the speakers are referred to the Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets meeting of March 26, 1998.)

2. Substance Abuse Policy

The Committee had before it a Policy Report dated February 10, 1998 (on file) in which the Director of Human Resources, on behalf of the Corporate Management Team, sought approval for a City of Vancouver Substance Abuse Policy.

Marilyn Clark, Director of Human Resources, and John Beckett, Manager of Occupational Safety & Rehabilitation, reviewed the report and responded to questions. Staff have worked on the policy for three years with managers, Union groups, and other employee groups. The policy will apply to all City employees.

Howard Normann, City of Vancouver Foremen’s Association strongly supported the policy. However, Mr. Normann expressed a concern with the higher standards expected of employees in "safety sensitive positions". It is not clear what are "safety sensitive positions". There should be one policy for all employees. The proposed policy is creating a two-tiered policy.

Ken Davidson, CUPE 1004, was not in agreement with the proposed policy. It is two-tiered and will have a double standard. Employees in safety sensitive positions will have zero tolerance; the rest of the employees are asked to use common sense. The Union does not understand how zero tolerance will be implemented, and will not agree to mandatory drug and alcohol testing. The proposed policy makes it easy for managers to not deal with employees: three times warned, and the employee is out. CUPE 1004 asks the policy be referred back for consultation and to be reworded.

Ken Dobell, City Manager, advised the City could not apply a zero tolerance policy for its employees across the board; it would not be legally defensible. However, a zero tolerance policy for employees who drive or operate machinery which may create safety problems is defendable.

Dave Rudberg, General Manager of Engineering Services, advised "safety sensitive positions" will be clearly defined. Managers will be talking to all employees. In addition, all employees will receive a written copy of the written policy and any consequences .

cont'd

Clause No. 2 (cont'd)

The following motion by the Mayor was put and carried. The Committee, therefore,

RECOMMENDED

A. THAT Council approve the attached Substance Abuse Policy to apply to all employees of the City of Vancouver; and

B.THAT the Police, Library and Park Boards be advised of Council’s action and be requested to consider adopting the policy.

(Cllr Chiavario opposed)

The meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver